"Ooh Shiny!"

Despite the fact that I've played less than 20 new games in the last year, I can't help it when I enter a game store and see a quality game on sale for less than $20. As a result, I currently have more than 20 games sitting on my shelf that have yet to play. That's not counting the handful of impossible games that I don't intend on putting anywhere near my 360 anytime soon. It's taken great willpower to not play them, but I'm starting to break. Two of the games - Dead Rising and Overlord - have sequels coming out this fall and I want to play them before preorder season begins.

I don't think I'll be altering the play schedule I posted below, but I'm not sure at this point. I have definite benchmarks as to when I'll be putting new games in, but beyond that I don't know. I've hit a pretty good balance of Gears / regular gaming, and at this rate I'll be done with Gears 2 by the 1-year anniversary of TU3. It sucks, but there's nothing I can really do. Once you factor in that school will be starting, if I can hit 100% completion by my 20th birthday, I'll be happy. I want to hit 100k long before that though, so maybe my triumphant 100k/100% completion moment needs to be altered to 150k or even 200.

As I previously mentioned, preorder season is coming up. I make a habit of preordering my games in full so I don't have to worry about having money that day. What I've done the last few seasons is gone into my local Gamestop with hundreds of dollars in cash, preordered 5-7 games at once, and left with a slip of paper. It's fun. My view so far is this:

• Assassin's Creed 2 - This is a definite. All the bad parts of AC1 seem to have been adressed, and the sequel looks like free-roaming swordfighting awesomeness.
• Dead Rising 2 - I have yet to play the first one, but if it's as good as I've heard, this is a definite.
• Overlord 2 - See above.
• Bioshock 2 - How could I not?
• Wet - Looks very intriguing, but I think I'll wait it out a little while. The devs were responisble for the travesty that was Mercs 2.
• I am Alive - The teaser at last year's E3 sold me, but I think I'll wait to see some more trailers first.
• Halo ODST - Hell no.
• Half-Life 2, Ep. 3 - Is it coming out? Who knows. If it is, definitely.
• Duke Nukem Forever - This looks like it may be the year we are graced with this. No, really.

I know there's one or two I'm forgetting, but this is good enough for now.